Nicholls honors science alumna by setting up scholarship for travel

Published: Saturday, January 19, 2013 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, January 19, 2013 at 11:44 p.m.

Rachel Ianni lived in many places. But she always loved south Louisiana.

Born in Springfield, Ohio, the biology student used her education as a vehicle to travel around the world.

“She took all kinds of volunteer jobs and internships just to travel to different places,” said Quenton Fontenot, who was Ianni’s thesis adviser when she was a master’s degree student at Nicholls State University. “She wanted to make the biggest difference in the world that she could, and she knew that to do that she had to get as much experience in as many places as she could.”

When she settled in Thibodaux during the year and a half it took her to earn that degree — most people take at least two full years — Fontenot said she quickly earned a reputation as a hard-working, productive researcher.

Ianni’s project was monitoring alligator gar that had been released to combat an accidental release of tilapia near Port Sulphur. The work was often hard and dirty. Ianni hauled her own boat and equipment in the back of her truck.

“She was always the first one to volunteer for the hard work,” Fontenot said. “She never once complained about it, either.”

After graduating in May 2011, Ianni took a job near Chicago. Then, late last year, she and her boyfriend, Zach, took a globe-trotting wilderness tour of places such as the Galapagos Islands, the Amazon rainforest and the ancient Inca ruin of Machu Pichu.

While hiking in the Andes mountains, tragedy struck — Ianni was killed when she slipped and fell into a steep ravine.

“I honestly can’t tell you how I felt when I heard the news,” said master’s student Michelle Felterman, Ianni’s close friend at Nicholls. “It took me a week before it even really registered.”

Felterman and several other friends traveled to Ohio for the funeral.

“They played ‘Oh When the Saints’ as they were taking out her casket. When we got to the cemetery, there was a guy holding a bag of Mardi Gras beads,” Felterman said. “It was Zach’s father.”

In the wake of Ianni’s sudden death, Fontenot found himself thinking of ways to honor her legacy. He settled on creating a scholarship fund that would help biology students do what Ianni loved to do — find jobs and internships far afield, seeing new places and earning new experiences.

“We want to give others the chance to get the same experiences that made her a great researcher,” Fontenot said.

The biology department is in the early stages of raising money for the scholarship and is taking donations from the public. Those interested in contributing can email Fontenot at quenton.fontenot@nicholls.edu, or can visit nicholls.edu/biology and click on the “Rachel Ianni Memorial Fund” link.

Fontenot said the department is planning several fundraisers that Ianni would have loved, including a crawfish boil in early April.

“This is something we’re going to work very hard at,” he said. “Because that’s what Rachel taught us all how to do so well.”

<p>Rachel Ianni lived in many places. But she always loved south Louisiana. </p><p>Born in Springfield, Ohio, the biology student used her education as a vehicle to travel around the world.</p><p>“She took all kinds of volunteer jobs and internships just to travel to different places,” said Quenton Fontenot, who was Ianni's thesis adviser when she was a master's degree student at Nicholls State University. “She wanted to make the biggest difference in the world that she could, and she knew that to do that she had to get as much experience in as many places as she could.”</p><p>When she settled in Thibodaux during the year and a half it took her to earn that degree — most people take at least two full years — Fontenot said she quickly earned a reputation as a hard-working, productive researcher.</p><p>Ianni's project was monitoring alligator gar that had been released to combat an accidental release of tilapia near Port Sulphur. The work was often hard and dirty. Ianni hauled her own boat and equipment in the back of her truck.</p><p>“She was always the first one to volunteer for the hard work,” Fontenot said. “She never once complained about it, either.”</p><p>After graduating in May 2011, Ianni took a job near Chicago. Then, late last year, she and her boyfriend, Zach, took a globe-trotting wilderness tour of places such as the Galapagos Islands, the Amazon rainforest and the ancient Inca ruin of Machu Pichu. </p><p>While hiking in the Andes mountains, tragedy struck — Ianni was killed when she slipped and fell into a steep ravine.</p><p>“I honestly can't tell you how I felt when I heard the news,” said master's student Michelle Felterman, Ianni's close friend at Nicholls. “It took me a week before it even really registered.”</p><p>Felterman and several other friends traveled to Ohio for the funeral. </p><p>“They played 'Oh When the Saints' as they were taking out her casket. When we got to the cemetery, there was a guy holding a bag of Mardi Gras beads,” Felterman said. “It was Zach's father.”</p><p>In the wake of Ianni's sudden death, Fontenot found himself thinking of ways to honor her legacy. He settled on creating a scholarship fund that would help biology students do what Ianni loved to do — find jobs and internships far afield, seeing new places and earning new experiences.</p><p>“We want to give others the chance to get the same experiences that made her a great researcher,” Fontenot said.</p><p>The biology department is in the early stages of raising money for the scholarship and is taking donations from the public. Those interested in contributing can email Fontenot at quenton.fontenot@nicholls.edu, or can visit nicholls.edu/biology and click on the “Rachel Ianni Memorial Fund” link.</p><p>Fontenot said the department is planning several fundraisers that Ianni would have loved, including a crawfish boil in early April.</p><p>“This is something we're going to work very hard at,” he said. “Because that's what Rachel taught us all how to do so well.”</p>